Aerodrome.



D. A. ALBBIGHT.

AERODROME. APPLICATION FILED mums, 1910.

Patented June 13, 1911.

3 BHEETS-SHEET l.

witnesses D. A. ALBRIGHT.

ABRODROMEQ APPLICATION FILED JAN. 22, 1910.

Patented June 13, 1911;

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2..

D. A. ALBRIGHT.

AERODROME. APPLICATION IILED JAN. 22, 1910.

7 3 8HEETS-SHEET 3.

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Patented June 13, 1911.

I DAVID A. ALIBRIGI-IT, OF GAINESVILIEE, FLORIDA.

AERODBOME.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 13, 1911.

Application filed January 22, 1910. Serial No. 539,442.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that 1, DAVID Amsnienr,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Gainesville, in the .countyof Alachua and estate of'Florida, have invented a new and usefulAerodrome, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to aero dromes and the principal object thereofis to provide a combined aeroplane, helicopter and orthoptera, wherebyall of the advantages of these types of devices may be combined in onemachine. y

Another object is to provide an aerodrorne having a propeller which isshiftable relative to the body of the machine so as to drive the sameeither in a forward direction or to elevate and sustain the same.

vA still further object is to provide an elevating and sustainingwheelfor use in connection with saidpropelling wheel, both of the wheelshaving blades which are shiftable with relation to the shaft of thewheels and whereby the said blades can be utilized as sustainlng planesto facilitate the soaring action of the machine.

Another object, is to provide a machine of this type utilizing abox-like body the up- 'per and lower portions of which constitutesoaring planes, there being extensible sup: plemental planes movablyconnected to the sides of the body. 1

A still further object is to provide a machine having laterallyextending wings provided with -mechanism whereby the same may be flappedto simulate the movement of the wings of a bird.

Another object is to provide a novel form of rudder.

With these and other objects in view the.

i invention consists in certain novel details of construction andcombinations of parts I hereinafter more fully described and pointed outin the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the preerred form of the invention has beenshown. In said drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the completemachine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine, the side wall of thebody being removed so as to disclose the mechanism within the body. Fig.3 is a rear.

elevation of the machine. Fig. 4 is an elevation of a portion of one ofthe elevating wheels. 'Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the wingsand a portion of its actuating mechanism. Fig. 6 is an elevation of oneof the guides used in connection with the wing operating mechanism. Fig.7 is aperspective view of a'portion of the rudder operating mechanism.Fig. 8 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation of the rudderbearing.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates thebottom plane and 2 designates the top plane of the bodyof the machine,said planes being connected at their sides by s de walls The top planeis inclined upwardly toward itsfront endand both ends of the body areopen.

A longitudinal series of openings 4 is formed in each side of the bodyand close to the bottom plane 1 thereof, there being an arm 5 pivotallymounted within each of these openings, all of the arms being movable inthesame horizontal plane. The arms extending beyond one side of the bodyare pivotally connected to a rod 6, said rod being parallel with theside of the body and being slidably mounted at each end withinoutstanding ears 7. Springs 8"are coiled about the end portions of eachrod, both of these springs cooperating with the ears 7 so as to exert aconstant pull upon the rod in one direction. One or more stops 9 arelocated upon the side of the body and serve to hold the arms 5perpendicularly to the'side of the body, thesaid arms being held in thisposition by the springs controlling .them. The various arms at each sideof the body constitute a frame work on which is stretched a plane 10formed of a suitable fabric, said plane coiiperating with the top andbottom planes 1 and 2 for the purpose of facilitating chine.

One of the arms 5 of each'series is ex-i tended into the body of themachine and has a cable 11 secured to it and extending partly around apulley 12. The cables extending inwardly from the twosides ofthe-machine are attached to an actuating lever 13, the

points of connection being at opposite sides of the fulcrum of the leverso that, when.

soaring action of the maof the adjoining pulleys 12. Said arms will thusbe folded against the outer sides of the body of the machine and motionwill be transmitted therefrom through the rods 6 to the other pivotallysupported arms 5 and,

' pose of actuating the machine.

as a result, all of the arms will be folded against the sides of thebody and the fab-, rics 1O constitutingthe planes will thus be held incompact folds close to the body. .It is of course to be understoodthatwhen the parts are thus folded'the springs 8 are under stress. The lever13-may be provided with any suitable mechanism, such as-the ordinarypawl and segment, for the purpose of locking the parts. v

Parallel supports 14 connect thetop and bottom planes 1 and 2 at pointsbetween the sides of the body and those supports located at the frontend of the body are connected by a rod 15 on which a gear 16 is designedto rotate, there being a sprocket Wheel 17 connected to and movable withthe gear.

An enlargement 18 is formed at the center of the rod and a shaft 19extends diametrically through this enlargement and is arranged to rotatetherein, said shaft being perpendicular to the rod. A gear 20 istsecured to the shaft 19 and'meshes with the gear 16 and it will beapparent, therefore, that when the gear 16 is rotated, motion will betransmitted therefrom through gear 20 to the shaft 19 irrespective ofany swinging action of said shaft about the rod 15.

A ring 21 extends around the outer end of the shaft 19 and is connectedthereto by mea'nsof radial spokes 22. A series of radially disposed rods23 is carried by the ring 21, said rods being mounted forrotation withinthe ring and being provided at their inner ends with cranks 24 each ofwhich is connected, by means of a rod 25, with a sleeve 26 designed toslide upon the shaft 19 and to rotate therewith. A propeller blade 27 issecured to each of the rods 23, said .rods extending along thelongitudinal centers ofthe blades and the blades are so proportionedthat when the rods are partly turned simultaneously in one direc tionall of the blades will assume positions in the same plane and with theadjoining longitudinal edges substantially in contact. The blades willtherefore form a circular plane. By shifting the sleeve 26 so as topartly rotate the rods 23 in the opposite direction, the blades 27 willshifted so as to act as propellers for the pur- It is of course to beunderstood that the sleeve 26 may be operated in any preferred manner,the said sleeve being preferably formed with an annular groove 28engaged by a ring 29. A rod 30 extends from this ring and longitudinallyof the shaft 1.9, the inner end of said rod being pivotally connected toone arm of a bell crank lever 31 which is fulcrumcd upon an arm 32extending from the enlargement 18. The other arm of the bell crank lever31 sleeve 34 Whic-his loosely mounted on the tion either in front withinone of the be simultaneously of the sha thereof, said is pivotally.connected to 'a rod 33- extending from a.

extends from the shaft, 15 and is pivotallyconnected to a rod 37 whichis in turn so cured to an actuating lever 38. It will be seen thereforethat by means of this lever and this connection, rotated so as, to bringthe shaft 19 into .posiof the body of the machine or above said body andperpendicular to the bottom plane 1. When the shaft is in either ofthese positions the same can be .rotated by the mechanism heretoforedescribed and the blades can also be shifted by the mechanism providedfor that purpose.

A motor 39 is mounted within the body and motion is transmittedtherefrom through a chain 40 to a sprocket 41 located on a transverselyextending shaft 42; A sprocket 43 is loosely mounted on the shaft 42near each side of the body and another sprocket 44 is secured itscenter, this last mentioned sprocket being designed to drive a chain 45which passes over and engages the sprocket l7 heretofore referred to.

Brackets 46 are arranged on the supports 14 and constitute bearings forparallel longitudinally extending shaft-s 47, each of the rod 1 5 can bepartly to said shaft adjacent these shafts being provided with gears 48.

Each gear mesheswith a gear 49 secured to one end of a short shaft whichis journaled supports 14 and one of these shafts 50 is provided with asprocket 51 arranged to receive motion through a chain 52 from one ofthe sprockets 43 heretofore referred to. It will therefore be seen thatthe two'sprockets 43 serve to drive the two shafts 47 through themechanisms provided for saidpurpose and, by providing clutches 53 eachor both of the sprockets43 can be con led to shaft 42 and either or bothf ts 47 thus rotated by the motor.

A disk 54 is secured to the outer end'of each of the short shafts 50 andhas a wrist pin 55 on which is mounteda dependingpitman 56. Each pitmanis pivotally attached to the inner end of an arm 57 which extendsthrough one side of the body'of the machine and has a wing 58 fastenedto the outer end wing being preferably shaped to simulate thowmg of abird. The arm 57 is so mounted within the wall of the body as to becapable of swinging either laterally or vertically but the arm is notdesigned to rotate. Parallel cars 59 extend upwardly from the arm at apoint between the pitman 56 and the adjoining wall of the body and :1link 60 is pivotally mounted between these cars and is provided at itsupper end with a roller 61. This roller is designed to travel within aguide way made up of opposed ogee curved grooves 62 having their endsmeeting'at acute angles, the upper end of the lower groovebeing'normally closed orwill beapparent that during the upward movementof the wrist pin and the pitman 56, a corresponding upward movement ofthe" arm '57 will be produced, the fulcrum of said "aim being withintheopening in the wall of the body of themachine. The roller 61 willtherefore beforced upwardly within the lower groove of the guide way andwill push aside the switch tongue 63 in the path thereof until saidtongue has been passed, whereupon the tongue will fall back to itsnormal position. Upon the completion of the upward movement of theroller and of the'wrist pin 55, the parts will begin to move downwardand the tongue 63 will direct the roller 61 into the upper groove of theguide-way. The roller will travel along this groove until it strikes thelower. switch tongue 64.: This tongue will be shifted laterally until itis passed by the roller, whereupon it will return to its normalposition. Upon the completion of the downwardmovement of the parts theroller'will be again returned by way of the lower groove ofthe guideway. Obviously this peculiar movement of the roller will cause the rodto rock with the arm 57 as a pivot and a combined up and down and backand" forth movement of the wing 58 'will thus be produced so that thetip or extremity of the wing will describe a substantially oval course.Each guide-way 62 is preferably formed within a block 66 secured to theside wall of the body of the machinein any preferred manner.

' A shaft 67 is journaledwithin the top of the body of the machine nearthe back of the center thereof and the lower end of this shaft isprovided with a gear 68 which meshes with a gear 69 secured to a shaft70 which is journaled in suitable brackets 71.

A; sprocket 7 2 is secured to the shaft 70 and ie-driven by a chain 73receiving motion from a sprocket 74011 shaft- 42. A propeller wheel 75is mounted on the upper end of the shafttt', this wheel being of thesame construction as the one heretofore described -,and having pivotedblades which are shiftable by means of a rod 7 6 extending into the bodof the machine to a Joint where it caii LY l conveniently-grasped andactuated. by the operator. The .wheel 75, when opened,

serves to elevate the machine and, when closed, operates as a plane forfacilitating the soaring action of said machine.

A center standard 7 is located vertically within the rear portion of thebody and has asocket 78 in the middle portion thereof and in which isfitted a ball 79. A rod 80 extends through and is secured to this balland is provided at its outer end with triangular blades 81 disposed atright angles to each other to form the rudder. The inner end of the rod80 projects loosely into a slot 82 formed longitudinally within a lever83. This lover extends transversely of the body and is pivotally mountedat one end as shown at 84, the other end of the lever being mountedWlthli'l a guide 85 and being connected, by me us of a rod 86, to onearm of a bell crank lever 87. The other end of this lever is connectedby a rod 88 with a bell crank lever 89 located near the forward end ofthe machine, there being a rod90 which connects the lever 89 with asuitable actuating lever 91. A rod 92 is loosely engaged by rod 80 closeto the lever 83 andthis rod 92 is pivotally connected to a bell cranklever 93 located adjacent the pivot 84. A red 94 connects the lever 98with an actuating lever 95 located near the'front end of the machine.It, will be apparent from the foregoing that by actuating the lever 91,the lever 83 can be swing in a vertical plane so as to tilt the rod 80in a vertical plane. the ball 7 9 and socket 78 constituting the fulcrumof the said rod 80. It will also be seen that by manipulating the lever95 the rod 80 can be shifted longitudinally of the slot 82 and thusswung laterally.

When the rudder is swung to the right or to the left it is desirablethat the same be tilted. to a slight extent. This is to be done in orderthat the surfaces of the rudder may be maintained practically in thesame relation to the'horizontal at all times during such lateralswinging movement and irrespective of the tilting of the body of themacl ine which occurs during the turning there or. peller may beeffected, a rod 96 is preferably pivotally attached to rod 80 at a pointbetween the blades Bland the socket 78; the lower end of the rbd 96being slidably mounted within a guide eye 97 prpvided for that purpose.The rod 96 inclinesupwardl y and rearwardly from the guide eye and as itis only capable of swinging in a plane extending longitudinally of rod80, it will be apparent that when the blades 81 are shifted to one side,the rods 96 will operate to tilt the same to a slight extent.

In using the machine the shaft 19 is first shifted into a verticalposition by means of the lever 38 and the parts connected thereto andtheblades 27 are then tilted. The blades In order that this tilting ofthe pro-.

of the wheels 75 "are also correspondingly tilted and the motor can thenbe started. The two wheels will berotated at a high speed by the motorvand will operate to lift the machine from the ground and, when a desiredelevation has been attained, the shaft 19 can be swung downward withouthowever stopping the rotation thereof. The wheels on saidsh'aft-willthus actto draw the machine forward ,and, by closing the wheel 75v thesame will cotiperate with the blades 1 and 2 to sustain the machineduring this forward flight. Additional sustaining surfaces can bepresented to the air by releasing By throwing either or both of theclutches 53 into engagement with the sprockets 43, either or both setsof disks 50 can be rotated and the wings controlled by said disks willbe fiapped in the manner heretofore set forth. It will thus be seen thatthe machine embodies all of the advantages of the aeroplane, helicopter,and orthoptera.

The steering of the machine is effected by means of the rudder and themechanism controlling it, itbeing possible to swing the rudder in avertical plane so as to direct the machine either upwardly or downwardlyand to also swing said rudder in a horizontal plane to effect turning ofthe machine.

As shown particularly in Fig. 5, the pit- -n1en 56 canbe extendeddownwardly below the arms 57 and connected, as by ball and socket joints98, with longitudinally extending coupling rods 99. These rods areconnected to cranks 100 formed upon a rock shaft 101. This shaft extendstransversely of the machineand has a lever 102 whereby it can be readilyactuated and obviously, when the shaft 101 is rocked, the rods 97 willbe shifted longitudinally in either a forward or av backward directionso as to cause all of the pitmen 50 to swing either forwardly orbackwardly and thus swing the arms 57 horizontally. In this way all ofthe wings may be simultaneously shifted by the operator withoutinterfering with the fiapping movement of the wings.

It is of course to be understood that va rious changes may be made inthe construction and arrangement; of the parts without departing fromthe-spirit 01' sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention asdelined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is v 5 1. An aerodrome including a-body having upper-andlower planes, arms pivotally connected to the body and extendedlaterally there beyond, said arms being arranged in series, a fabricsecured to each series of arms and constituting a supplemental plane,elastic means for holding the arms extended laterally beyond the body,and means mounted for swinging movement, a motor for oscillating thearms m vertical planes, a stationary guide device, 'mea'ns movable withthe arms and' within the guide device for rocking the wings from side toside during the oscillation thereof, to move the tip of each wing in anendless path.v

3. An aerodrome including a body, arms mounted for swinging movement inthe sides thereof, a motor, means actuated by the mo tor for oscillatingthe arms in vertical planes, wings upon the outer ends ofthe fil'gls,stationary guide members upon' the 0 ways communicating at their ends,an eley and having opposed curve guide-.

ment movable with each arm and within the adjoining guide-way, andswitch devices within the guide way .for directing saidele- 'ments inthe proper path during the oscillation of the arm. t

J1. An aerodrome including a body, nonrotatable 'arms projectingtherebeyond, a wingcarried by the outer end of each arm, means foroperating each arm in a vertical direction, cotiperating means upon eacharm and upon the body for rocking the arm and wing during theoscillation thereof to move the tip of the wing in an'endless path, and

means for simultaneously shifting the wing horizontally independently ofsuch movement.

5. In an aerodrome, the combination with a controlling wing and meansfor actuating the same, of a .wing guide including curved guide-wayscommunicating at their ends,

and switch devices in the end portions of the guide-ways, and meansconnected to and movable with the wing for traveling Within theguide-ways.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixedmy signature 1n the presence of-two witnesses.

DAVID A. ALBRIGHT.

Witnesses: I I i A. S. ALBRIGHT,

FERDINAND BAYER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

